Click Optimize

Wrapping up the LoneRider Tweetup

Filed under: Tweetup

Thanks to those of you who came out to the LoneRider brewery last Tuesday for the tweetup. We met some fun folks from the Raleigh/Durham area, ate BBQ, did a little imbibing and had an overall great time.

If you missed the fun (or if you want to relive it), take a look at these links:

The photobooth photos from F8 Photo Studios may inspire a chuckle or two. Use the password Outlawf8 to see them.

We had only one entry into the video contest…but it’s pretty awesome. Thanks to Ginny Skalski (@ginnyskal) for convincing us all to give Peace(maker) a chance.

Our TwitPic winner was Rianna Mallard (@riannam). You can see her as Shotgun Betty here.

John (of the Triangle Explorer) posted a Flickr album with his photos from the event. He also featured a photo from the event as the Triangle Explorer’s Picture of the Week – nice!

Cynthia Mallard (@cynmallard) did a recap of the night, complete with photos — check it out on her blog.

See the Twitter conversations about the tweetup by searching the hashtag #imanoutlaw.

Thanks again to everyone who attended and to those who helped out – including The Pit BBQ and F8 Photo Studios!

Are You an Outlaw?

Filed under: Tweetup

So, if you haven’t heard, we’re helping LoneRider Brewing Company host a tweetup at their brewery on April 13th. (Don’t have a ticket yet? Grab one quick — there are only two left!)

Contest details
To add to the fun, we’re having a contest leading up to the event. Here’s how you can enter:

• Decide which LoneRider outlaw you identify with most
• Make a 12seconds.tv video or post a TwitPic answering the question, “What LoneRider beer are you?”
• Tweet out your video or photo with the hashtag #imanoutlaw
• Come to the tweetup to see if you’ve won!

Not sure what to do for your video or photo? For an example, see mine here. You don’t have to do what I did — do whatever your muse (a few LoneRider beers, obviously) leads you to. You can share why the beer you chose is your favorite, tell why you identify with that outlaw, get into character or whatever you think up.

What you really want to know: Prizes!
At the tweetup, we’ll announce two contest winners: one for TwitPic and one for video. Each winner will receive a growler of their choice of LoneRider beer as well as an iPod. The video winner will get an iPod touch and the photo winner will receive an iPod shuffle.

So, what are you waiting for? Impress us with your outlaw persona and maybe win some beer and an iPod!

Chatroulette Marketing: Ideas for Brave People

Filed under: Web Video

I’ll admit it. After weeks of hearing about and being warned away from Chatroulette, I visited the site. I had some friends over a couple weeks ago and, when the conversation turned to Chatroulette, I suggested we check it out. Besides being mildly traumatizing, the experience got me thinking.

If you haven’t heard of or visited Chatroulette, here’s a quick primer: Andrey Ternovskiy, a 17 year-old high school student from Moscow, founded the site in late 2009. It’s basically an old school chatroom mixed with Skype. The novelty lies in the “roulette” aspect: visit the site to chat with a random (and yes, sometimes naked) stranger. Don’t like that person? Just click a button and you’ll get paired with another one (but there’s no clicking back to the last person).

Sometime in February the site became the latest mainstream internet phenomenon. That’s not to say everyone uses it. Everyone just talks about it. Who does use it?

Take a look at this graph from comScore to see:

So who will you meet on Chatroulette? 72% of the site’s users are male. 45% are people age 18 – 24. And many are using the site for, um, less-than-scholarly activities. Which is why you probably don’t want to check out the site on your work computer. And why you may also want a trigger-ready finger to click “Next.”

That said, Chatroulette’s uses go beyond the obscene. Some examples: video, video. Plus, while I don’t think companies should stifle the fun with marketing messages, I think the site poses some opportunities for creative marketing efforts. Here goes:

• Position your company’s logo or icon in front of a webcam and leave it up on Chatroulette. Make it eye-catching. Make sure the url to your website is visible. It’s like a billboard – people probably won’t stop and look at it for long, but your logo will get some face time. Plus, it’s free (and takes about zero effort).
• Create a game or puzzle like this person did. Go for simplicity and cleverness, but also make sure your logo or brand message makes an appearance too.
• Get a Chatroulette celeb to rep your brand with a t-shirt, hat, etc. while on the site.
• Make a Chatroulette contest. For instance – put the prize (iPad!) in front of your webcam and leave it up on Chatroulette all day with a sign that says “Visit [your website url here] for a chance to win this.” Or, announce that you’ll be on Chatroulette during a certain timeframe and that you’ll be giving a special discount code or prize to people you come across that are wearing a t-shirt with your company’s logo or using your company’s product.
• Tie it in with your other marketing efforts. You know Burger King’s creepy King mascot? Now imagine that you ran into the King on Chatroulette. Wouldn’t you tell your friends (or perhaps share the news on Twitter)?

What are your ideas for marketing on Chatroulette? Let us know in the comments.